October 2, 2025
BUSAN – Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday agreed with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, whom he spoke with in the southern Korean city of Busan, to work to further develop bilateral relations in a stable manner and bring about more reciprocal visits by the leaders of the two countries.
They also agreed on continuously conducting discussions between the nations’ governments regarding common social issues, such as their shrinking populations and overconcentration of population and power in their capital areas.
This marks Ishiba’s first visit to South Korea since taking office. It is also expected to be his final official overseas trip, as he has announced that he will resign. His aim is to confirm a good basic tone for bilateral relations and establish reciprocal visits by the two countries’ leaders ahead of the inauguration of the administration that will succeed him.
At the outset of the meeting, Ishiba mentioned that Tuesday marked the passage of a year since he took office. He added, “I deeply feel the significance of concluding my diplomatic tenure with a meeting with President [Lee].”
Lee, whose administration was inaugurated in June, has met with Ishiba three times in the less than four months since then. He emphasized: “The more difficult the world becomes, the more important exchanges between neighboring countries are. I hope we can work together to develop [our relationship] through reciprocal visits.”
The two leaders discussed international affairs, including issues related to the Indo-Pacific region and Palestine. They affirmed that they will continue to make efforts to improve communication on security issues and cooperate to bring about the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea.
They also agreed to hold a meeting of the Japan-Korea Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, which has not met since 2009, to accelerate cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.
This was the first time since 2004, 21 years ago, that a Japanese prime minister has visited a regional area of South Korea as part of his bilateral diplomacy activities. By doing so, Ishiba apparently intended to call for cooperation between Japan and South Korea on shared challenges, such as regional revitalization, which he considers important.
Following the talks, both governments released an outcome document stipulating that they will continue to conduct discussions between their officials which began in September, based on an agreement made by the two leaders in August.
